Interim CPS chief looking out for No. 2

December 17, 2010

Chicago Public Schools interim Chief Executive Officer Terry Mazany expects to name a new chief education officer shortly after the first of the year, filling a key position that's been vacant since the summer, he said on Friday.

Mazany, who is on loan from the CEO's post at the Chicago Community Trust, was tapped by Mayor Daley last month to run the nation's third-largest public school system until a new mayor takes office in May.

Daley said at the time of the appointment that Mazany's top priority would be to find a replacement for former Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins, who was well respected for her work during Arne Duncan's tenure but left the post at the end of June.

In an interview with the Tribune, Mazany joked about his speed in following the mayor's directive to fill the school system's No. 2 position. "I'm living in dog years. I've only got six months," he said, referring to his brief time on the job. "You gotta be quick."

His first board meeting earlier this week was a rowdy affair, with several residents complaining at length about proposals to approve three new charter schools and allow existing charters to expand onto six new campuses. Mazany withdrew the proposals for further consideration.

A board member of Renaissance 2010, Daley's initiative to redo failing schools as charter and contract schools, Mazany said he believes charter schools can strengthen traditional public education by allowing more experimentation and innovation.

"I've been a proponent of excellent schools," he said. "I've not been a proponent of charter schools for the sake of charter schools."

Mazany is a former schools administrator in Oakland, where he endured California's longest teachers strike. In Chicago, he faces a $700 million budget deficit for the coming year and the possibility of staff cuts.

He declined to offer any specifics on possible school closings, saying CPS is still in the process of determining whether any schools might be shut down for issues including poor performance and low enrollment.

Mazany said he has looked inside and outside CPS for candidates to fill the chief education officer's post. Since Daley took control of CPS in 1995, the job has typically gone to someone with an education background, while business and administrative acumen have been the criteria for the chief executive.

Mazany took over from Ron Huberman, who was criticized by some for his emphasis on testing and data collection to evaluate teacher performance

Mazany said he would like to re-evaluate Huberman's "performance management" system, which has been criticized by many educators for taking time away from teaching.

"It's a logical time to take stock of how is this being used, where's it been helpful and where have we gone overboard," Mazany said. "A business leader would say, 'We need data, data, data. We need assessments.' The education leader will understand that every time you assess students, it takes instructional time away from students.

"So there's a balance there. All I simply want to do is to take a survey of the practices and understand: Is this adding value? Do we need to make any adjustments?"